Skeletons in the Closet
by Aquaria Identity 07
Summary: It's been a year, and not a day goes by without Sulley thinking about – and feeling guilt over – the fate of Randall. But when Sulley finds a familiar, yet battered and bloodied figure entering through a child's door at the factory one night, it doesn't take long for his life to turn upside down as he is forced to confront his guilt … Whumpage. Rated T for safety.
1. Intro

**Skeletons in the Closet**

**Summary: **It's been a year, and not a day goes by without Sulley thinking about – and feeling guilt over – the fate of Randall. But when Sulley finds a familiar, yet battered and bloodied figure entering through a child's door at the factory one night, it doesn't take long for his life to turn upside down as he is forced to confront his guilt … Whumpage. Rated T for safety.

**A/N: **I've been overcome by a compulsion to write my first piece of fanfiction for Monsters, Inc. because it's been playing on TV for the last few weeks. I first watched M.I. when I was little, and it was one of my favourite movies – Randall was not my favourite character, until **now**. ;)

I really hope that you'll like this fanfic of mine, so no flames, please.

**Disclaimer: **Monsters, Inc. belongs to Pixar. The closest I'll ever come to owning this brilliant movie is my fanfic contribution and a decade-old McDonald's Happy Meal toy of Mr Waternoose – which I think we gave away, unfortunately. :(

* * *

**Chapter 1: Intro**

Five minutes past six, and it was relatively quiet since the bell rang, signalling the end of the working day at Monsters, Inc.

Five minutes ago, the corridor outside Sulley's office was filled with the footsteps of monsters, who were talking at the top of their voices and laughing heartily as they walked towards the locker rooms to collect their belongings and then proceed to go on home.

Now, a large majority of the employees had left the building, taking the noise with them, and Sulley sighed in relief at the thought.

_At last … a little peace and quiet, and now some time to actually think._

Sulley sat back in his office chair, loosening his tie with another relieved sigh. As he did this, the CEO allowed himself to look around the interior of Mr Waternoose's – _no, wait, it doesn't belong to Mr Waternoose anymore, Sulley_ – **his** tastefully furnished office. The overall style of the office had been revamped since Sulley had taken over from Mr Waternoose and became the CEO of Monsters, Inc., and in general, the office was simple yet smart, the way Sulley liked it. However, the longer Sulley gazed around the office, the more he was reminded of the disgraced former CEO. It was amazing to think that Mr Waternoose ruled over the company with an iron fist from the comfort of this room. Sulley could recall many a recurring visit to Mr Waternoose's office to be congratulated by the boss himself over the younger monster's remarkable scaring abilities …

Sulley closed his eyes. It had been a year since Mr Waternoose was arrested by the Child Detection Agency; a year since he, James P. Sullivan, became CEO of Monsters, Inc. in the midst of an energy crisis; a year since he realised that children's laughter proved to be ten times more powerful than their screams, thus solving the energy crisis. A whole year and _still _Sulley could not wrap his head around the idea – the _reality _of the fact – that he was now sitting in Mr Waternoose's office, head of a reputable company, all because of _laughter._

To Sulley, it seemed so – to pardon the pun – _laughable_.

However, he knew that it would have never been possible if he and Michael "Mike" Wazowski, his best friend since university and his former working partner when he was _the_ top scarer, hadn't gotten involved with "Boo", the precious little human girl …

The big monster smiled as he fondly remembered the toddler who stole his heart. Who knew Sulley would become attached to the little girl, despite the commotion she caused in Monstropolis? She was cute, fearless, naïve, and let's not forget her adorable laugh (though Mike was quick to argue that it wasn't "adorable" at all) – Sulley grew to love Boo as if she was his daughter.

That's why he couldn't – just _couldn't _– let Mr Waternoose carry out the evil plan to extract her screams to solve the energy crisis. Sulley couldn't let Boo be the first of thousands of children to be kidnapped for Mr Waternoose's gain. How ironic it sounded, that a big burly monster like him, James P. Sullivan, who scared children for a living, would risk his friendship with best friend, his career and his life in order to protect the little human girl.

_It was worth it, _thought Sulley to himself as he took a clipboard out of his desk-drawer, two pages clipped onto it. _Boo got home safely, Mr Waternoose is behind bars and now the company is back on top again after the energy crisis. Boo's laughter made me realise how powerful children's laughter is compared to their screams._

Sulley looked down at the clipboard, another smile gracing his lips as he gazed upon the drawing that Boo made on the night she entered his life: a cute caricature of him, a big, spotted, blue blob with horns, holding the hand of a small girl in pink – Boo herself.

Such a tiny child, she was, yet she was seen as a threat to monster-kind … who else but Sulley and, though initially unwilling, Mike, was going to save Boo from harm?

_Harm, in the form of Randall …_

Sulley could feel a pang in his heart the moment he thought of _him._

_Randall Boggs …_

It was all because of _him_; everything that happened …

_Randall Boggs …_

The plot to remove children's screams, the horrific Scream Extractor …

_Randall Boggs …_

Sulley meeting Boo and becoming close to her as he tried to get her back home; his protecting and rescuing her; his exposing Mr Waternoose's involvement in the plot to the CDA and having him arrested; his discovering the capabilities of laugher …

_Randall Boggs …_

Bringing about the end to the energy crisis; bringing Monsters, Inc. back on top; sitting behind the desk in the CEO's office at the factory …

_Nothing over the last year would ever have happened if it weren't for_ **Randall Boggs**.

And what did Sulley do in return?

He threw the lizard-like monster through a door and trapped him in the human world _forever_.

Sulley bit his lip, trying to push the unwanted memory out of his mind, but the memory persisted, and when it entered his head, the monster was forced to remember that event clearly …

* * *

Inside the factory's Door Vault, holding the reluctant Randall tightly to prevent the lizard from escaping, Sulley readied himself to throw the monster through an open door that Mike chose. Mike himself stood by the side of the door, enthusiastic and cheering Sulley on. Boo was a few feet away, a keen smile on her face. The enthusiasm was infectious, and Sulley couldn't help but adopt a smile of his own at that moment. After all that he went through for the last two days, he was ready to give it to Randall in return for his actions, and he felt a rush of thrill run through him as Randall tried in vain to squirm out of his captor's hold …

Sulley began to swing the lizard back and forth, building in momentum, much to the delight of Mike and Boo, who egged him on.

Randall could only _beg_, crying as he was swung, "No, no, please, no …!"

Sulley loosened his grip as he swung the lizard forward, finally letting him go.

The last thing he saw of the reptilian monster was a flash of purple as Randall sailed through the door, screaming helplessly, the last action of the second-best scarer at Monsters, Inc. Before Sulley could look anymore, Mike closed the door on the lizard with finality, exclaiming triumphantly before Sulley could trap Randall in the human world and before Mike could throw the door over the rails:

"He is OUT OF HERE!"

* * *

Sulley rubbed his forehead wearily, shaking his head when the memory came to an end.

_Is it wrong of _me_ to feel _guilty _for banishing Randall like that?_

_Is it wrong of me to ask myself this _**_everyday_**_? _

Day after day, it was hard to suppress the thoughts of the reptilian monster. Randall Boggs was committing a very evil crime for kidnapping Boo for her screams, that was true, but surely a fair trial and imprisonment would have been apt enough punishment for the lizard instead of banishment? At the time, Sulley felt no remorse in throwing Randall through the door and destroying the door, but now …

Guilt.

The blue monster felt complete and utter guilt in having played a hand in Randall's fate. He thought himself cruel and callous to have banished Randall from the monster world – Sulley understood what banishment was like – albeit for only a few hours – and he almost felt like Mr Waternoose when the former CEO banished Sulley and Mike to the Himalayas.

And there was _no way_ that Sulley wanted to be compared to Mr Waternoose.

The fact that it had been a year since the CEO last saw his former rival made Sulley wonder: _Is he alright?_

Randall was not like Bigfoot or the Abominable Snowman. He would be the type who would not rest easily in being trapped in the human world. He would have no trouble blending in with his surroundings, given his ability to camouflage himself, but Sulley knew Randall possessed determinism, a characteristic that would enable the reptilian monster to survive in the human world and try to make his way back to Monstropolis.

But the question that was constantly on Sulley's mind was: _Where in the world is Randall Boggs?_

Unlike Mr Waternoose when he banished Sulley and Mike to the Himalayas, Sulley did not know where he banished the lizard, and so Randall's fate was unknown to him, only increasing his guilt further.

Sulley could not bring himself to think that the lizard might no longer be alive …

_No, he's alive. He has to be. He won't die, he won't let himself die …_

Sighing shakily once more, the blue monster looked back down at the clipboard in his hands, the picture of him and Boo coming to view. Gently, he took hold of the page from the bottom-left corner and lifted the page up, so that his cerulean-eyes fell on the second paper hidden underneath

It was another drawing, compliments of Boo – only this time, it was not one of him or of the little girl.

The crude figure in the drawing was none other than Randall Boggs, a sort-of side-profile of the purple reptilian monster. Sulley salvaged the drawing after he and Mike returned Boo home. It was lying in their apartment, forgotten for a while until Sulley came upon it after he found the picture of him and Boo.

_It was all that was left of Randall in all of Monstropolis …_

_Knock-knock!_

"Sulley! You in there, pal?"

Sulley quickly hid the clipboard in the desk-drawer the moment he heard the knock on the office door. Hurriedly, he pulled a document that was lying on his desk towards him – an invoice which he read over that afternoon, regarding a consignment of children's doors that just came in that day.

"Sulley?! I know you're in there, so you can't ignore meeee!" sang a familiar voice on the other side of the door.

"It's kind of hard to ignore you, Mikey, no matter how tiny you are!" called out Sulley good-naturedly, pushing his guilt and all thoughts of Randall aside. "Come in, I was just busy looking over this invoice."

A lie, little though it was, but a lie nonetheless. Where Mike Wazowski was concerned, Randall Boggs meant nothing to him, whether the lizard was dead or not.

* * *

**A/N:** Whew! First chapter done. Hope you liked it – I had to watch "Monsters, Inc." a few times and go through the Pixar wiki to get this chapter written. My biggest challenge will have to be writing Sulley and Mike's dialogues in the next chapter. There'll certainly be a lot to talk about in the next chapter, I can promise you that … ;)

I hope to get the cover-art done soon for this fanfic, and – if the response is good – to write the second chapter.

Reviews are welcome!

*~AI07~* ;)


	2. When One Door Opens

**Skeletons in the Closet**

**Chapter 2: When One Door Opens**

"I'd never thought I'd see the day: James P. Sullivan mulling over paperwork," remarked Mike Wazowski as he entered the office with a suitcase in his hand, grinning up at his best friend behind the desk. "I thought you had assistants to do this stuff for you."

"It's the end of the work day, monoball," replied Sulley amiably. "They've all gone home. Anyway, you know I always double-check invoices for deliveries of doors myself. With the human population now at seven billion, there'll be an influx of children to amuse –"

"Yeah, yeah, enough with the business jargon, pal," interrupted Mike, rolling his one eye. "Put down the invoice, Sulley. I got something I want to show you."

The smaller monster turned his attention to his suitcase. Unclipping it, he opened up the suitcase, put in his hand and gently pulled out a small, red-velvet box. Mike looked back up at Sulley and, with his other hand, opened the lid of the box, revealing a stunning ring pinned to the cushion of the box.

"Check out the rock!" exclaimed Mike, obviously proud. "That there's a diamond in the middle, pal! The ring's lined with 22 diamonds and the inlay's made of lapis lazuli, and – get this – the metal is made up of – I'm not joking around – 14 carat white gold! What do you think of that?"

"Wow, Mikey," murmured Sulley, gazing at the beautiful piece of jewellery. His tone became humorous as he said teasingly, "I didn't know you felt this way about me. Why, even the lapis lazuli goes with the colour of my fur!"

"Ha ha, funny joke - not," said Mike, again rolling his eye as he closed the box and deposited it back into the suitcase. "No offence, Sulley, but you're just not my type. Anyway, the ring's too small for your fat paw."

"Go ahead and break my heart," replied Sulley with a grin, getting up. "It sure is a stunning ring, though. I can't believe you've been lugging it around in that suitcase. Who's it for?"

"It's for _Celia_," said Mike in exasperation, as if it was obvious. "I'm gonna propose to her tonight."

"Aw, Mike, that's great!" exclaimed Sulley, coming over to Mike and crushing the smaller monster in a big hug, causing Mike to lose his breath for a few moments. "I'm happy for you, little buddy!"

"Thanks, Sulley," gasped Mike when the blue monster let him go. Catching his breath, he said, "I'm picking Celia up at seven-thirty and we're gonna have a romantic dinner at Harryhausen's. I'm gonna pop the question over a bottle of bubbly and hopefully she'll say yes. This ring cost me an arm and a tentacle, I tell you."

"She will say yes, you needn't worry about that," said Sulley, assuring. "You guys have been together for two years now, and like you said once before, Celia is the one for you."

"Yes, she is, my friend – she's my Schmoopsie-poo, and I'm her Googly Bear," said Mike contentedly, looking love-struck as he thought of his "Schmoopsie-poo". He glanced teasingly at Sully after a few moments. "Just as long as you don't let _another _kid in through a door this time, okay, big guy?"

Sulley playfully punched Mike, nearly pushing the smaller monster off his feet. "No kid's getting into Monstropolis tonight or any other night, I promise. I won't ruin your evening this time around."

"Thanks, Sulley," said Mike, smiling graciously at his best friend. "You're the greatest best friend I ever had - not to mention the best man at my wedding."

"Aw, I'm touched, Mikey," gushed Sulley, beaming down at the green monster. "It'll be an honour to be your best man."

"The fact that you're the best friend of Michael Wazowski is an honour in itself, pal," responded Mike with a wink (with the one-eyed monster, it was difficult to distinguish whether he was winking or simply blinking). The monster gave a small cry as his gaze fell upon the wall-clock. "Good grief, look at the time! It's almost twenty minutes past six! I have to go home and get myself ready. Beauty takes time, it doesn't just happen!"

"Calm down, Mike, you'll hurt yourself," soothed Sulley, putting a giant hand, or paw, on Mike's shoulder. "You don't wanna look frazzled in front of Celia, do you?"

"You're right, you're right, I gotta focus," said Mike, taking a few deep breaths. "Focus on the game plan. Keep a cool head. Celia will say yes, for sure!"

"That's the way to do it, Mikey," said Sulley, patting Mike on the shoulder. "Now go home and get yourself ready. You'll be fine."

"Thanks, Sulley," said Mike, closing and picking up the suitcase, with the ring safely stored inside. The smaller monster ran to the door and opened it, but he paused to look back at Sulley. "Do you have Low Tide odorant back at the apartment? Celia goes wild for that smell!"

"Yeah, I bought some yesterday. It's in the bathroom-cupboard in front of Rotting Fish and next to Sweaty Feet. Good luck, Mike!"

"Thanks, pal! I owe you." With that statement, Mike Wazowski was gone.

Well and truly alone in his office – and overall, in the factory – Sulley turned his attention back to the invoice lying on his desk. He _was_ well-known for double-checking invoices concerning deliveries of children's doors – with a population boom in the human world, humans have relied too much on resources to build homes. The increase in children was phenomenal, and the more children there were, the more laughs there were to get in order to create sustainable energy for the monsters. Twice to three times a month, Monsters, Inc. put in an order for a batch of new doors that led to children's bedrooms all over the world. Sulley made it his first priority to look over the invoice twice to make sure that the correct number and type of doors was ordered, before the doors were tested.

Sulley took the invoice into his hands, reading the information once more. The consignment of doors, 38 in all, led to both the Southern states and the West Coast of the USA. There was a general rise in the child population in those areas of that country.

Over half an hour ago, Sulley asked some assistants to set up some of the new doors in one of the Laugh Floors so they could be tested early the next morning before the floor was to be used by the employees.

_Well, it certainly won't hurt to check out the doors myself, _thought Sulley, walking towards the office-door with the invoice in hand. _Save the assistants a lot of time if I test the doors, too. The children will probably be either at school or dead-sleep to notice._

On that note, Sulley walked out of his office and made his way to the vacant Laugh Floor.

* * *

When Sulley entered the large Laugh Floor, his cerulean-blue eyes immediately fell upon the various doors already set up in their respective stations. It was quite dark in the room, as it was dusk, the sun having set to a certain degree. Nonetheless, the big monster could see the doors fairly clearly.

Twelve or so doors had been set up; the rest were still in the box that it had arrived in. The box sat by a desk. The testing procedure called for activating the doors by simply pressing a button on the keypad of the machine that secured the door – if the light above the door glowed red, then that indicated that the door was not only ready to use, but also that the door was in perfect working order. If needs be, the procedure also called for opening the door to glance into the child's bedroom. Then, the door was ejected and carried away to the Door Vault, and the file, containing information about the child, that came with the door would be filed away for future-use. Faulty doors immediately went back into the box to be sent away to the manufacturer.

_Easy_, thought Sulley with a grin.

_I might as well test the doors, then. Ten or fifteen minutes … that's all it takes._

The big monster walked over to the first door at the first station, a morose green-coloured door. Sulley pushed a button on the machine's keypad, keeping his eyes on the light above the door.

The light glowed a vivid shade of red.

Sulley gently turned the doorknob and opened the door. Quietly, the big monster peered into the room: it was black-dark, and Sulley could just about make out the shape of a child lying motionless in what seemed like a bed. Sulley closed the door as quietly as he had opened it, feeling satisfied.

_Okay, this door is working perfectly, _thought Sulley as he pressed the "Eject" button. The deactivated door was immediately lifted up and attached to a hook on a conveyor belt above the monster's head. The conveyor belt whirred into action, and the door shook as it was carried towards a hole in the wall, leading to the gigantic Door Vault where the door would be safely stored.

_Next one._

* * *

The eighth door was fully functional, like the previous seven tested doors. The mahogany-coloured door was ejected and whisked away by the conveyor belt to the Door Vault. Sulley gazed after it, pleased that none of the doors tested so far was faulty.

_Four more to go. The assistants can test the other doors later tomorrow._

Sulley walked over to the ninth station, at which a Carolina-blue door was secured. It was plain of any decorations – in fact, the only striking thing about the door was its colour. Sometimes a door could tell a story about the child who inhabited the bedroom. From what Sulley could determine about the door was that it looked new, in good condition and … a nice shade of blue.

_Good condition … new … no decorations …blue …that could only mean that the door could belong to an infant boy, that his parents probably just built or bought a new house recently with a room just for him. The tyke was probably asleep now, too young to understand what was going on if he was awake._

Nevertheless, he did not want to risk waking the child up: babies woke up at any sound and they were known to wake up in the dead of night because of hunger and such. The last thing Sulley wanted was to have a crying baby bringing the house down.

_Alright, let's get this over with._

Suppressing a tired yawn, Sulley pushed the "Activation" button, and subsequently the light above the door glowed red, standing out against the blue colour.

_Me and my affinity for blue, _thought Sulley in amusement, placing his hand on the doorknob and turning it.

As the big monster was pulling the door slowly towards him, he felt a big weight pushing against the door – it was like, say, the equivalent of a cupboard-door opening up because the cupboard was too full, causing the things inside to push open the door and fall out.

_What the heck …?_

Before Sulley could push the door shut, the door opened widely as the weight on the other side pressed against it. Sulley could only watch as something red and purple fell at his feet, causing the big monster to jump backwards in fright.

As Sulley regained his composure, he took a proper look at the thing that forcefully opened the door.

He couldn't be more horrified.

_What the HELL?!_

It was a long, reptilian creature, lying flat-out on its stomach, whose scaly skin was masked with – Sulley gulped – red blood – lots of red blood, so much so that the purple and blue colours could barely be seen. Blood, wet and dry, coated various parts of the lizard's body, from the tail to three protrusions on the head. Fresh and old bruises decorated the body in various shades of black and blue. Amongst the many bruises, large slashes and small cuts could be distinguished, and scars were all too visible to the eye. Crimson rivers flowed from whatever open slash and cut there was. The worst of the gashes was one that began from the creature's shoulders down to the lower back. Blood oozed heavily from the open wound, and it showed no signs of beginning to clot anytime soon. Coagulated blood caked around the gash, masking the scars of healed cuts.

Sulley swallowed a few times, suppressing the urge to retch out his insides. His terrified cerulean-blue eyes ran down the length of the creature's body, past the tail to a trail of blood that led from the creature's body. The bloody trail led to the darkness of the child's bedroom from whence the creature came. Sulley's eyes, a hand over his mouth, wandered upwards to the door – the inside of the door was now decorated with a large bloody stain, the imprint created when the creature was pressed up against the door.

Sulley's heart dropped when the realisation hit him:

_The creature was sitting in the child's closet the _**whole**_ time._

_What was it doing there?_

His thoughts were interrupted when a noise echoed around the room, causing the big monster to jump in surprise, making him forget entirely about the door.

The noise sounded again.

_It's coming from _**it**.

His heart banging away in his chest, Sulley forced himself to look down at the bloody creature, who made another noise, which sounded like a … _groan_?

_It's … alive?_

Slowly yet unsure, Sulley stepped forward, bit-by-bit, ever so cautious. When he judged that he was close enough, the big blue monster bent his knees and leaned down, very slowly, as he inspected the groaning creature. At the first sign of any threatening movement, he mentally readied himself to run …

Suddenly, the creature lifted its blood-spattered head with one last groan.

Cerulean-blue eyes met crystal-green eyes, one of which was caked in dried blood.

Despite the blood, Sulley knew those eyes – that _face – _anywhere.

It still surprised him to see who the bloodied-owner was, though.

"R-R-_Randall_?"

* * *

**A/N: **Dun dun DUUUN! Just what you were expecting, no? To clarify, it's RANDALL, everybody! But what happened to him? You'll just have to wait and see. ;)

I don't know, I felt like writing Chapter 2 straight away because I was overcome by the excitement of writing more for this fanfic, and the great response so far to Chapter 1. I love it! Thank you to those who reviewed and such, and to those who just popped in to have a read. It's appreciated, I can tell you. :) Oh, and please tell me if you guys like the cover-art, which I made today whilst writing this chappa. I'm not great at drawing Sully and Randall, but hey, I gave it my best shot – I've never drawn those two before.

Reviews are welcome! :)

*~AI07~* ;)


	3. Who's There?

**Skeletons in the Closet**

**Chapter 3: Who's There?**

Randall Boggs, in the flesh.

Lying at a completely stunned Sulley's feet, bleeding heavily with no signs of stopping, right here in the factory.

_He's back. Randall's actually BACK in our world!_

_But what in Monstropolis' name happened to him…?_

Sulley was truly at a loss for words at that moment – you would, too, I'm sure, if you were in a similar situation – and he could do nothing but think these thoughts and stare hard at the wounded reptilian monster, whose unfocused crystal-green eyes met his own wide cerulean-blue eyes. His former rival's right eye, as mentioned before, was caked in dried blood, emphasising the Chartreuse-green colour of his crystal-like orbs. However, his gaze was unfocused, shown by Randall's incessant blinking as if to clear his vision.

Realising that the reptilian monster could not see clearly, that he could not possibly distinguish who or what the blue blob in front of him was, Sulley slowly leaned down further, closer and closer until he was standing at eye-level with his former rival, who stared dazedly straight ahead and breathed rapidly.

"Randall," he whispered, hesitant.

The lizard did not respond. Instead, his eyes narrowed somewhat and his breathing increased.

"Randall, you _can _hear me, right?"

No response. Only dazed blinking and breathing in small, rapid bursts.

"It's me, Randall," whispered Sulley with a little more volume, waving his hand slowly in front of Randall's face. "It's Sullivan. You're back at the factory. Do you under –"

Sulley never got to complete that sentence.

In that precise second, Randall finally responded, but not in a way that Sulley expected: he _whimpered_.

Randall Boggs, the highly competitive second-best scarer, had _whimpered_.

So small was this whimper, a soft little cry that the injured reptilian monster emitted pathetically, yet all the same when the bigger monster heard it, it shook Sulley down to the core: to hear his former rival whine like a scared child was absolutely shocking.

As the shudder passed, it was as if Sulley felt something beginning to constrict in his chest – the more he looked at the helpless monster lying before him, the more the feeling in his chest became tighter, threatening to overcome the big monster, and making Sulley familiarly uncomfortable. It was as if a cold claw gripped his heart and refused to let go.

_I don't like this. Not at __**all**._

Swallowing hard, and refusing to let the unwanted sensation cloud his senses, Sulley reached out once more, as if he meant to touch the other monster's face.

Before he could make contact with even one blood-spattered scale, Randall drew back.

Not just his face moved back – his entire, bloodied body had slithered backwards with whatever strength remained to carry out this action, so that Randall was out of the big monster's reach. All the while, he never took his eyes off Sulley. His constant blinking had long since ceased – his crystal-green eyes were now wide open, focused on the blue monster for all he was worth.

_Fear_ … raw fear emanated from those large eyes.

Sulley felt a cold sense of dread envelope him as the grip around his heart tightened.

Straightening himself up slowly, the bigger monster stood over the lizard, regarding him in disbelief. Randall, his entire body stiff, watched every single movement without as much as a blink. His bloodied eye narrowed, but still the reptilian monster did not bat an eyelid.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Sulley whispered soothingly, "Relax, Randall. I'm not going to hurt you. I-I-I would _never _try to harm you, not in your current state. I want to help you –"

He took a step forward; Randall slithered backwards, trailing more blood on the floor.

"Don't touch me," a raspy voice gurgled softly, almost whimpering.

The feeble voice, the _plea_, issued forth from Randall himself.

By this stage, Sulley was not yet immune to the effects of undiluted shock, and he gaped at the reptilian monster in surprise the moment the lizard opened his mouth and spoke.

"Randall …" was all Sulley could say as he again stepped towards the lizard.

"Please," Randall gurgled desperately, his body rapidly moving back from the big monster. "Stay away from me."

"Randall, you're hurt. Let me have a look at you –"

"I told you, keep away from me …"

"Randall, you're seriously wounded," Sulley tried again, sounding desperate as he advanced towards the retreating monster. "What happened to you?"

"No, no, stay back, _please_." Rivulets of blood ran down Randall's chin as he spoke, collecting into an already big crimson puddle on the cold surface of the floor. "Don't touch me, _please _don't touch me …"

His tone was so urgent and desperate that Sulley paused in his tracks – his cerulean-blue eyes regarded the frightened reptilian monster, who was breathing in panicky gasps. His bleeding body shook with terror, and it seemed to increase the gush of blood flowing from his many wounds. His fear-laden eyes rested on Sulley, without a trace of recognition present in them, and that was what scared the big monster the most.

_My former rival … reduced to _this.

"Randall," Sulley started softly – the smaller monster flinched when the blue monster's voice pierced the silence.

Sulley went on, still soft. "Randall ... do you know where you are?"

The reptilian monster responded with a small shake of a head. _No_.

"Do you know who _you_ are?" questioned Sulley.

A small nod of the head. _Yes._

"Do you know who _I_ am, and what happened last year?"

The moment the lizard shook his head furiously in response, a few crimson droplets decorating the ground, Sulley felt as if his heart was mercilessly crushed. In that instant, he forgot all about the other monster's horrific state.

"Randall," Sulley's voice shook with oncoming emotion, "do you mean to say that you don't remember what happened to you, that you don't remember how you …" he paused, choosing his words carefully before saying, "how you _got into_ the human world?"

"No," gurgled Randall, his body shaking strongly now as Sulley's tone became somewhat harder, not realising the powerful effect his responses had on the blue monster.

"You don't remember how you used to work here at Monsters, Inc.? Your position as the second-best scarer? The competition between us for breaking the Scare Record? Your assistant, Fungus?"

"No," replied Randall, his toner higher. He gulped as Sulley inched towards him …

"You don't remember Mr Waternoose, my friend Mike Wazowski, the human girl … the plot to extract screams?" asked Sulley, his voice becoming louder each second. "Do you _actually _remember _anything_ about Monsters, Inc.?"

"No!" cried Randall feebly, almost whining as the blue monster approached him slowly. Pain coursed through the entire length of his body as he shrunk away from the big monster, and it was made plain as he practically screeched, "I don't know who you are, and I don't know how you know me! I have no idea where I am … _please_ don't hurt me."

"What do you remember, Randall?" asked Sulley severely, causing the other monster to flinch. He gesticulated wildly with his muscular arms, emphasising his next words – he hardly noticed that he nearly swung his arm into Randall's battered, alarmed face. "Tell me something that you can recall! About your life, your family, your, um … oh, anything, Randall, just tell me ANYTHING!"

"Stay back …" moaned Randall, wilting visibly.

But the bigger monster persisted in his pleading. He was now virtually on top of the shrinking, violet monster. "Think, Randall, think! You can't _possibly_ have forgotten everything! Isn't there _anything_ that you can think of?"

"I don't …" tried Randall faintly, before his voice died away.

"You have _got_ to remember!" suddenly roared Sulley, right into the reptilian monster's gory face, unable to prevent the remorse from overcoming his senses, thus it ended up enveloping his entire body.

How desperate he was, how frenetic he _sounded_, as he tried to make the smaller monster remember something about his past life in the monster world. He could not – _would _not – accept the idea that Randall's loss of memory was all because of _him_, good ol' Sulley, who banished the lizard and somehow let him back in … _this_ state.

_I can't accept this! I _**_cannot _**_accept this!_

"I'm not gonna let you forget, do you understand me?" the big monster cried, virtually roaring in Randall's face. Flecks of saliva involuntarily flew out of his mouth, mixing with the blood on the other monster's skin. "I will not leave you like this! **I'll make you remember!**"

Chartreuse-green eyes, wide-open in fear, stared up at the big, blue monster in light of this statement.

Then all at once, they disappeared into nothing.

Along with the rest of Randall's body.

Sulley's own eyes widened when the realisation dawned on him that Randall had just turned invisible – up until this crucial point, he had truly forgotten Randall's ability to camouflage himself when he pleased.

"Oh no … _no_," muttered Sulley, a feeling of rising terror welling up inside of him. Immediately, he grabbed at the space in front of him, where the reptilian monster had laid before turning invisible.

There was nothing there, except a bloody patch on the floor.

Randall had vanished.

He had_ escaped._

His panic increasing every second, Sulley spun around, his eyes darting around the vacant Laugh Floor for any sign of the lizard. Nothing was in sight.

_Well, duh, because he's INVISIBLE!_

Inwardly cursing himself, the blue monster looked down at the floor, staring at the big, scarlet stain. Well, there were two stains, actually: number one, where Randall landed after Sulley opened the door; number two, where the reptilian monster rested whilst the bigger monster interrogated him. The blue monster, shuddering, took note of the blood trail that led from the child's door, which was still open – Sulley quickly reached over and closed it, careful not to step in the blood …

… and when his eyes rested momentarily on the first stain, he noticed something odd: a _new _blood trail was leading away from it. It was right next to him, passing by him, and he hadn't noticed until now.

His breath caught in his throat, Sulley's eyes slowly followed the trail. The blood seemed fresh and quite recent, and it seemed to be leading out of the –

Sulley looked up in the direction of the entrance/exit, which led into and out of the Laugh Floor, and then he looked back at the floor again. His eyes wandered up the trail, and it soon ended – or so he initially thought.

The trail was _continuing_. A river of blood was still flowing onto the floor in a straight line, smudged here and there, although the source could not be determined. It was as if the blood was appearing out of nowhere …

But then, Sulley knew better than that. He figured out at once what, or rather, _who,_ was the source.

"Randall!" he cried, sprinting towards the invisible monster, who had yet to escape from the Laugh Floor. "Don't even think of trying to run away!"

_He can't run away from me now. Not in his condition. He's too weak to run fast. That's why he's still on the Laugh Floor. Whether or not he left, you can't stop yourself from bleeding and leaving a trail._

And whether or not Randall was weak, Sulley was not about to let the lizard out of his grasp.

He easily caught up to the unseen monster, who frantically tried to get away the instant he heard the big monster call him, but his efforts were unsuccessful as he felt furry, muscular arms enclosing tightly around his tender body.

"Argh!" he screamed, pain enveloping his body as soon as Sulley's arms wrapped around him. He began to thrash about, struggling to release himself from the much-too-strong grip, which only amplified his pain. "Let go of me!"

Sulley did not pay attention to the invisible Randall's pleas, unaware of the other monster's agony – he only tightened his hold on the squirming body. A pained scream echoed on the Laugh Floor

He lifted the monster's unseen, wriggling body a few inches off the ground – ruby-red droplets that suddenly materialised out of nowhere splattered on the floor. A rather large globule fell on top of Sulley's foot, staining the purple-spotted blue fur.

Sulley grimaced briefly in disgust as he looked down at his tainted foot – only to find that it was not only his foot that was covered in blood.

In fact, the fur on his chest, his arms, his hands and the lower part of his face was _completely matted_ with Randall's blood.

A sour taste, starting at the back of his throat, could now be felt with full force on Sulley's tongue. He swallowed, and swallowed again, as he stared in nauseated shock at his partly crimson-coated body. The more he stared, the more faint he felt …

"Please …"

The soft whine pierced the short silence, immediately capturing the big monster's attention.

A rustling noise sounded as Randall's body, blood and all, suddenly materialised, obscuring Sulley's view of his own body – somehow, during his struggle, the lizard had managed to twist himself around so that he was now facing the big monster. Two scarred hands rested atop of Sulley's forearms. The reptilian monster's body, dangling off the floor, was completely still.

Crystal-green eyes stared hopelessly into dazed blue eyes, and – Sulley noticed, stunned at the sight– they were beginning to well up with _tears_.

"Please," Randall repeated.

A tear ran from the encrusted eye down his bruised cheek.

"You're hurting me …"

Then his entire frame fell limp as Randall fainted in Sulley's arms.

A harsh, little voice screamed in Sulley's mind as the monster gaped wretchedly at the unconscious monster:

_Oh no, what have you done to him, you idiot?! He's practically dying already, and you only made it worse, squeezing him like a tube of toothpaste! You're lucky he's just unconscious – do anything stupid again and you'll have a dead body on your hands next time. _

_And you don't want that, you _**definitely** _don't want that …_

_Do you?_

"No, no …" spluttered Sulley aloud, beginning to shake.

Without thinking, he brought the wounded lizard towards him, gently holding him to his chest for dear life, as if he feared the unconscious monster would disappear. His fur was saturated with red matter in return.

_Well then, then I'd suggest you do something about it. Can you say 'medical attention'?_

* * *

When Sulley became the new CEO of Monsters, Inc., he made it one of his first priorities to implement a first aid policy. In short, it was required that all employees, especially Laughers (formerly known as Scarers), should take part in a first aid course. The purpose of this policy was to promote safety at the factory, as well as boost the employees' confidence in themselves in terms of being able to rely on themselves. In addition, for the Laughers who employed physical comedy to get children's screams, they would benefit greatly from the course. There is always the one monster, usually who is relatively new to the business, who is always involved in one accident or another and is in dire need of first aid.

Sulley was one of the first monsters to take part in the first aid course – he wanted to set an example to his employees.

Right now, he was going to put his training into practice.

Cradling Randall in his left arm, Sulley reached out and unlocked the door of the nurse's office. He turned the doorknob and gingerly entered into the darkened room.

The monster quickly found the light switch, and immediately the office was illuminated. The room was large, spruce and clean. It had recently undergone renovation since Sulley's instalment as head of the company: a brand-new medical cabinet stood in the top-right corner; a white desk stood against the right wall, and its surface was decorated with various papers, an emergency first-aid kit and so on; an imitation hospital bed lay parallel to the back wall, with a chair for visitors set beside it; a wall-clock ticked away above the bed; a porcelain sink and mirror was built into the left wall; posters promoting health and safety lined the white walls. Smiling faces radiated from these posters, accompanied by quirky, uplifting messages and typical medical information.

Sulley laid Randall down on the bed. Luckily, the bed was long enough for the lizard to rest on. The bed could accommodate his long body and extra appendages, making it easier for Sulley to examine his various wounds.

Needless to say, there were so many cuts and lacerations on Randall's body – the gash from the shoulders to the lower back was the worst injury out of them all. Even the crust around his eye looked troublesome. The bruising and scars, Sulley would have to take care of later, but stopping the bleeding was his main objective now.

_If I don't throw up first …_

This was certainly not the attitude Sulley wanted to adapt, but one had to understand his nervousness: in his first aid experience, he never dealt with this much blood. For a moment, the monster considered phoning a real doctor, but he dismissed the thought on the count of two things – he did not want anyone to know yet that Randall had come back, and anyway, by the time an ambulance came to the factory, Randall would be (Sulley shuddered at the thought) _far _beyond their help

_I can do this_, he thought gravely, looking at himself in the mirror. He saw how much blood coated his fur – back then, a child would have died on the spot if they saw a hulking monster, coated in fresh blood, entering through a closet in the night. Sulley wiped his chin, smearing the blood in, but it did not matter now. It would just have to wait.

_I have to attend to Randall. I can't let him bleed to death._

With that said, Sulley quickly yet thoroughly washed his hands, before turning his full attention to the prone form on the bed.

* * *

After the last cut was washed with warm water and soap, rubbed over with infection-reducing antibiotic cream and covered in a sterile bandage, Sulley stood back, a tired smile tugging at his lips. Calmness had begun to overcome him once more, the first time in an hour or so since he began cleaning Randall's wounds.

_That should do it. For a good while, anyway._

The big monster again washed his hands, and he filled a basin with soapy water so that he could attend to his fur. As the basin was filling up, Sulley ran his eyes over the comatose lizard.

Various areas of the reptilian monster's body were wrapped in bandages, one of which were quite large and covered the entire shoulders-to-back-gash. It took considerable time to clean each cut, but more so on that gash. Sulley managed to stop the heavy bleeding – well, not completely, but it did not bleed as heavily as before. The crust around Randall's eye had been carefully scrubbed away, although there was some residue left, and a dark ring was revealed around the orb – a black eye, no doubt about it. The blood was painstakingly scrubbed off the scaly skin, which varied in shades of purple, raw pink, blue and black. Not exactly a pretty sight, but better than before.

**_Definitely_**_ better, _thought Sulley, beginning to wash his fur thoroughly. _There's no possible way that he would've survived if I hadn't been there to help –_

_You fur-headed, brainless idiot, if it wasn't for _**you**_, he wouldn't be on the verge of death._

The harsh, little voice was remorseless. The cold claw gripped at the monster's heart once more, knocking the wind out of him.

_Look at him, big guy. Don't deny it, _**you** _got him turned into a mess – and now look, _**you're** _wading deep in a big mess yourself. Can't say that you don't deserve it … this is what you get for doing what you thought was the "right thing" for everyone._

_Wrongfully punishing someone without so much as a trial, sending him off to potential death, hell on earth …you thought that was the "right thing"?_

The grip grew tighter…

_I think that the roles should have been switched around, big guy …_

"Shut the hell up," Sulley snarled, shaking his body in an attempt to loosen the hold on his heart. "Dammit!"

Rose-coloured water had suddenly splashed over the rim of the basin as Sulley accidentally smacked the water with a large hand. It spilled with abandon onto the tiled floor.

Grumbling to himself, Sulley concentrated on washing himself, which took about a solid ten minutes. The blood had soaked somewhat into his lush blue hair, discolouring it (temporarily) to a maroon tint – if it had been any darker, it would have matched the purple spots. Otherwise, there was no more blood left on Sulley's body. Not a trace could be seen.

Or so Sulley thought – he had totally forgotten about the telltale red stain lingering on his foot.

But then, he forgot about the _other _stains, too – the two, monster-shaped stains on the Laugh Floor, the blood trail, the child's door …

If Sulley had remembered these things, _especially _the stain on his foot, he could have prevented the trouble that was looming darkly, with sinister intent, on the horizon …

* * *

The wall-clock, which read 8:10, ticked away, though its loud _tick-tick_ noise was shortly masked over by a groan.

In the corner of Sulley's eye, he could detect movement from Randall's bed. He turned around in that direction as another groan sounded.

_Randall's awake …_

Indeed he was. The reptilian monster, though his eyes were still closed, was no longer motionless. His appendages twitched back into life. His tail had acquired a life of its own, moving in fluid, snake-like movements. The lizard's head rolled from side to side whilst he muttered something incomprehensible under his breath, reminiscent of a child having a nightmare. His chest rose up and down as he took deep breaths in-between his mumbling and groaning.

Randall was well and truly awake.

And, after a nearly successful escape attempt, this was not good.

Sulley didn't think: the consequences of his following actions were not considered at that moment until only _after_ he executed them.

What he did was this: Sulley, fighting the panic that was welling up inside of him, rushed over to the medical cabinet, pulling the door open, practically off its hinges. Inside the cabinet were pharmaceutical products, safe from prying hands (and tentacles) – capsules, tablets, medicines, creams, you name it. Tongue depressors, syringes, needles, gloves, thermometers, stethoscopes, cotton wool swabs, surgical flashlights and extra prescription packets were among the other things that were stored inside.

Sulley grabbed a syringe, a needle and a swab, and – after giving the label the once-over – he seized a small bottle marked in capital letters, "KETAMINE".

He inserted the needle into the syringe and, after unscrewing the cap, he carefully dipped the needle into the bottle. Delicately, he drew the solution, until the clear liquid filled up half the syringe.

The big monster deposited the syringe onto the inside of the lid of the first aid box that lay on the floor at the side of the bed. Sulley then pulled out a bottle of disinfectant from the box, and applied it to the cotton swab.

"_Hrgzy chulrun_," whimpered Randall, his eyes screwed up tightly.

His right arm of his second pair of limbs swatted at nothing in particular, waving high in the air. Immediately, Sulley grabbed that flailing limb, bringing it towards him. He wiped down a spot high on top of his arm with the cotton swab.

"_Hushushu, hush-hushu chul, crosset …_"

Dropping the swab into the box, Sulley picked up the syringe and, very slowly, the tip of the needle hovered over the disinfected skin.

"_Ugh … crosset crosset, savfirme …savfirme, chul crosset …"_

The needle pierced through the skin. Blood trickled down, away from the intrusive instrument.

"_Ooh …hurmee, hurmee, hutackingk …_"

_Good, I hit the vein,_ Sulley thought solemnly.

Gradually, he pressed down on the syringe – the solution was slowly but surely exiting out of the syringe and being injected into Randall's bloodstream. He intended to use every drop of the solution on the lizard.

In less than a minute, the syringe was empty.

"_Hubl, hubl … _**help!**"

Randall's eyes flickered open.

Sulley withdrew the needle just in time. When Randall's gaze fell on the big monster and the blood-tipped medical apparatus, glinting dangerously in the luminescent office light, the reptilian monster shrieked for all he was worth as he tried to jump off the bed.

Large hands grabbed Randall by the shoulders and pushed the bandaged body back into the bed, trying not to apply too much pressure. Randall struggled against the strong hold, screaming and wriggling like mad.

"Let me go!" he yelled, trying to pull the hands off him, to no avail. "Why won't you LEAVE ME ALONE?!"

"Randall, for your sake, stop struggling," Sulley tried to reason with him. "There's no point in struggling." _When's that damn Ketamine gonna kick in?_

Randall spat at the blue monster. "You take your fat hands off me and let me go! Who do you think you are? What do you want from me? What have I ever done to you, huh?"

Sulley thought it was wise not to deign to reply to that question.

Instead, he waited for the "damn Ketamine" to work.

For a good few minutes, Randall continued to thrash about, kicking, squirming, cursing and emitting ear-splitting shrieks as he fought against his captor, and he seemed to show no signs of tiredness. Sulley kept his ground, ignoring the protests of the reptilian monster. He just kept his hands on Randall's shoulders.

Approximately five minutes since the injection, Sulley felt the movements beginning to slow down. The kicking was becoming less frequent. The squirming was slow-moving. The cursing was cut down to murmurs. The shrieks were morphing into soft whispers. Sulley looked down at the lizard.

He watched as the crystal-green eyes began to become fuzzy and unfocused, before it narrowed and then closed. The body, raised up in protest, slumped down onto the surface of the bed as the sedative set into work.

Randall was conked out, for goodness knows how long.

Releasing his grip, Sulley sunk into the visitor's chair, rubbing his face, exhausted. It was the only thing he could think of, sedating Randall before the lizard could try to escape again.

Now, he had a sedated monster on his hands.

_What now?_

_Tick, tick, tick, tick …_

Sulley glanced up at the wall-clock, as if the noise emanating from it responded to his question. The time read 8:20.

Exactly two hours ago – if Sulley thought about it – Mike had rushed out of his office to get ready for his date with Celia.

Being the suave, romantic yet impatient type, Mike _would_ wait for about an hour before proposing to Celia … yes, he _is_ that type of guy.

_So _… chances are, Mike _would_ have proposed by now, surely?

_So_ … Sulley _wouldn't_ be interrupting anything now, surely?

_Oh Lord, _thought Sulley, his face in his hands. _I'm actually considering calling Mike._ The blue monster glanced at the prone form beside him._ He won't be happy about this …_

Sulley debated with himself for less than half an hour before he made a decision …

* * *

"_With you I feel on top of the wooorld, just me and my giiirl …!_"

Mike Wazowski, indeed, felt on top of the world. His spirits were high, oh-so-very high, and he felt like he could do anything, as everything seemed possible at that moment. Such was his achievement tonight, that he was ready to conquer the universe because he was unstoppable.

Right now, he stood in front of a mirror in the tasteful men's bathroom at Harryhausen's, freshening himself up with Low Tide odorant and singing his heart out in absolute joy. He paused in his singing, listening to the voices outside where the other patrons were. He could distinctly hear a woman's voice, one that he could listen to all day, which was high-pitched and sounded excited as it went on about "how beautiful the ring was" and "how I love my Googly Bear so, so much!"

Mike sighed blissfully, warm inside as his love for his Schmoopsie-poo rushed through him. Yes sir, now he will hear that voice everyday for the rest of his life, 'til death do they part, and all that jazz.

"_I am yours, and you are mine_," belted out Mike, before being interrupted by the more in-tune ring tone of his cell phone.

The small, green monster pulled out his phone (don't ask me where) and glanced at the screen: _Sulley._

Grinning widely, Mike pressed a button and held the phone to his ear.

"Hey Sulley!" answered Mike cheerfully. "I bet you're just phoning to check up on how I'm doing so far. Well, I got some good news and some great news. The _good _news is, get your best man's suit to the dry-cleaners and get it ready for the reception because the _great _news is that Celia said yes!"

"Great, Mikey, great!" crackled Sulley's voice. "That's awesome, buddy. Congratulations. Really, couldn't be happier."

"Sulley, are you okay?" asked Mike, frowning slightly. "You sound a little …I dunno, distracted. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, good, sort of," answered Sulley's voice hurriedly. "It's just that something's come up at the factory, and … I didn't know who else to call … well, I didn't want to call anyone, and … look, I know it's a special evening for you, but I sort of –"

"Sulley, relax, you're rambling. Slow down and talk some sense, why don't you? I can't make head or tentacle of what you're saying, pal."

"Sorry, Mike, but the thing that came up … it's huge. It's, uh, _bloody_ huge … and I need you here."

"Me? Can't you get someone else to help out? What about one of your hundreds of assistants?"

"Mikey," Sulley's tone became soft, "Mikey … I don't want anyone to know about this. I can't trust this with anyone, and I … I trust you. I need you here. Please, Mike."

There was a pause.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Mike sighed heavily as he said, "Geez, when I said I owe you after borrowing your odorant, I didn't think it would be tonight. Okay, I'll meet you in ten minutes."

A big, relieved sigh could be heard on the other end. "Mike, thank you so much. I'll pay you back, honestly."

"Do yourself a favour and try to make up a good excuse before Celia comes along and tries to strangle you," advised Mike, trying to sound pleasant. "She ain't gonna be happy with you, pal."

"Believe me, I don't think she'll be the only one," replied Sulley cryptically, before adding: "Please hurry if you can".

The phone went dead.

Mike lowered the phone, a frown tugging at his lips. Sulley certainly sounded urgent.

What could possibly be worrying him?

Whatever it was, Mike's I-can-do-anything-now-that-I'm-engaged attitude was fading away. Fast.

* * *

**A/N:** "Who's there?", as in "Knock knock, who's there?". Fitting title, I think, for a story that involves closets and Randall's sudden inability to remember Sulley and the gang.

I didn't expect this chapter to be long – think of it as recompense for the two-to-three week wait for this update. In the space of that time, I have been sick in bed with a cold and listening to Michael Jackson songs repeatedly, I was accepted to study at two universities and my dog Sugar unexpectedly passed away in her sleep yesterday – she would have been 14 in August. She has been with my family for most of my childhood, and I cried like anything, as I never even said goodbye to her. I love you, Sugar. 3 In that same time period, I received an unbelievable response to this story, which has encouraged me to write a portion each day and … well, here we are. :D Thank you so much!

Forgive me for all the, uh, bloody scenes (really, not enough adjectives for the word "blood" and "bloody", hence the repetition), and I apologise profusely for the injection scene. My goodness, even if the Sulley-Randall-prevent-escape scenes were practically ... graphic.

I am looking for a beta-reader, so if you're interested, PM me! I'm too scared too look over the horrid scenes to rectify any mistakes.

Reviews are welcome! :)

*~AI07~* ;)


	4. The First Stone

**Skeletons in the Closet**

**Chapter 4: The First Stone  
**

_09:15 PM._

Night, an endless black blanket draped across the sky, was accompanied, or rather bejewelled, with silver stars. They glowed against the black backdrop, radiating light that many of Monstropolis' residents would unfortunately mistake for that of helicopters and aeroplanes. Indeed, the industrialized city suffered from light pollution, like their fellow counterparts in the human world, but tonight it was different. The stars were at their best, showing off their natural beauty as they shone for all they were worth. For some unlucky lost monster who roamed around on the outskirts of the city or in some other miserable place, from the guidance of the brightest North Star they could easily find their way home. For the romantic monster, the starry night proved to be the perfect setting for a passionate rendezvous or, say, a moonlight stroll, either way that would make for a wonderful (and ideal) night to remember.

If at any time Mike Wazowski considered doing one of these things with Celia after their date, there was definitely no chance of doing that now.

Shifting into fourth gear without thought and narrowly avoiding stalling his car in the process, Mike turned off the main road and down the path that led to the parking lot in front of Monsters, Inc. The small, green monster grumbled under his breath about the impracticality of manual cars, not once considering his poor driving skills, as the car winded its way down the path.

Many lights lighted up the factory, the white building standing tall against the black landscape. Mike could see the factory miles away from Harryhausen's, and he kept an eye on it as he made his way through the night-time traffic – unfortunately, that meant that he did not really keep an eye on the road itself, and many motorists and pedestrians were not impressed by being nearly knocked over and potentially killed by a manic, monoball ("midget" was thrown about by some of the younger monsters) monster.

Overall, Mike really did not notice, let alone care, and even if he did, he would deny everything and blame his behaviour on Sulley.

Because whenever something is up with the big guy, it always comes crashing down on Michael Wazowski.

_And speaking of the big guy …_

Standing by the entrance of the factory, almost as tall as the front doors, was the great James P. Sullivan (_the _late, _great James P. Sullivan, once Celia deals with him_). Even from a far-off distance as he rode down the path, Mike could clearly make out the relieved expression that Sulley wore on his face the moment he spotted his best friend arriving.

And yet, Mike could distinguish slivers of – _what _was_ that?_ – impatience and anxiety rising to the surface: the big guy was precariously biting his bottom lip and his brows were furrowed. Even his movements were affected – his right foot was tapping up and down, beating to a rhythm of its own making.

_Good grief, Sulley really must be worried about something. And I thought _**I** _was worried about Celia turning my proposal down – phew, wait 'til _**he's** _in the hot-seat!_

Mike shifted into third gear, and subsequently into second gear, as he decelerated. Slowly, he proceeded to the parking lot, though judging by Sulley's nervous mannerisms as the blue monster watched his friend approaching, now was not the time for the small, green monster to rejoice in finally being able to park in the vacant block right by the entrance. Instead, Mike pulled up right next Sulley, parallel to the entrance – Mike always hinted to Sulley about the possibilities of valet parking, but so far, nothing came of his requests.

Lowering his window, Mike leaned out of the car, looked up at Sulley with a half-lidded eye and, in a sultry tone, said, "Hi, come here often?"

"Good to see you too, Mike," replied Sulley, though he did not look directly at the smaller monster. Instead, his head was turning to his left and to his right, his eyes shifting in every direction. Finally, he gazed down at a very bemused Mike, nervousness flickering in his blue orbs. "Don't worry about the car for now. Just leave it here and follow me inside."

Humour abandoned and now apprehensive of Sulley's bizarre behaviour, Mike started, "Sulley, what's going on –"

The big monster cut him off with a wave of his hand. "No time to talk, Mike. Not out here, anyway. Wait until we get inside. Get out of the car and don't say anything until I show you the problem. You got that?"

"Sure thing, pal …" began Mike, but his words faded as Sulley turned his back on him, hissing "Come on!" as he walked through the front entrance.

_Hoo boy, if this is what happens when you're CEO of Monsters, Inc., count me out for a promotion, _thought Mike apprehensively.

Glancing out into the dark night, which suddenly seemed less scary than Sulley's behaviour, Mike activated the alarm on his precious car before he turned on his heels and begrudgingly walked after Sulley into the deserted factory.

* * *

They walked through the corridors in silence.

They treaded across various carpeted floors quietly. No words were exchanged, no hearty congratulations on the engagement, no inquiries regarding Celia and whether or not she was furious at Sulley for calling Mike away from their special night … nothing like that. Silence hung over them, an unsolicited member of their troupe, as far as the two monsters were concerned, but one they had to put up with all the same.

Sulley led the way through innumerable passageways with Mike a few steps behind him, the green monster growing more and more hesitant as they made their way up through the different levels of the building. He wanted – oh, how he really wanted! – to say something to Sulley, to at least utter one word that would express how he felt at that moment so that the big monster, his best friend, could lessen his ever-rising dread; carry the load, put him at ease … things that friends do for each other.

Because that's what friends are for, right?

Mike opened his mouth … and quickly closed it. Sulley's words, his cryptic warning, echoed in his mind: _Don't say anything until I show you the problem. You got that?_

_Yeah, I got it, pal, _answered Mike to himself despondently, keeping his eye on Sulley's back as they padded along the corridor of the ninth floor. _'Cause that's what friends are for, what _I'm_ here for, no matter what happens …_

"We're nearly there," stated Sulley in a low voice, without looking around at Mike.

Mike nodded, but did not make a sound.

Biting his bottom lip once more, Sulley held back the apology that threatened to escape from his mouth – he was afraid that more than a request for forgiveness would come gushing out. There will come the time when he will eventually have to reveal how Randall came returned through a door into the factory, but right now, at this crucial point, showing Mike the sedated monster in the nurse's office was his main priority. If he said anything now on the subject, Mike would turn around and march out of the factory before he even laid an eye on the monster.

_And goodness knows if he'll keep it a secret …_

Sulley strode on, Mike close behind him. His small steps became large strides as the bigger monster picked up the pace, his apparent nervousness fueling his movements. Meanwhile, Mike bristled inwardly, more than a little irritated at Sulley as he practically stormed ahead of him. It was not enough that they walked all this way through various floors - _now _Sulley was almost jogging, so much so Mike too had to pick up the pace to catch up with him.

_Good grief, _Mike fumed to himself, _who does he think he is, a world-class athlete or something? Now _he _wants to make me run, too? I swear, __he's gonna make my odorant wear off! Why won't he slow down?_

_Whatever the problem is, if it's so bad that it's making Sulley act weird, please give me the strength to at least get out of here as soon as possible, _Mike prayed, stifling his own ever-growing nervousness, though he had a hard time trying to keep the doubt creeping into his thoughts, threatening to consume him ...

They reached the end of the corridor. Sulley paused by the last second-last door, a white door with a glass window. A blood-red plus-symbol and the words "Nurse's Office" in black capital lettering were pasted against the window's surface.

Mike scanned the window, and his large eye narrowed as he turned to look up at the big blue monster. "The nurse's office? What are we doing here, Sulley?"

Sulley did not reply immediately, despite the breach of promise from the one-eyed monster. Instead, he looked down at the floor, his eyes darting all over the place, and he shuffled his feet. Nervousness held the reins once more as his movements became spasmodic. Even his speech was affected to some degree, evidenced by the rather obvious lack of such speech.

And that lack of speech, the unspoken explanation, the untold reason that he was waiting for, annoyed Mike by far.

"Sulley, answer me, for goodness sake," said Mike sharply. "I don't want to complain or anything, but after having to leave Celia behind after just proposing to her and driving all this way through hellish traffic to get here and you acting like a panicky earthquake that's just waiting to happen … and now you're not even answering me … Sulley, my patience is up. How can I help you if you're not even telling me what's going, huh? What was the whole point of this?"

The small green looked up at the bigger monster with an exasperated expression, his hands on his hips as if to say, "Well? Give me an answer – I'm waiting!"

Sulley looked down his infuriated friend with tired eyes. A heavy sigh passed his lips.

_Judgement Day cometh,_ reverberated the chilling voice in his mind, sounding almost gleeful at the proclamation.

As he opened his mouth to finally respond to his friend's questioning, Mike suddenly gasped, his large eye widening as he whispered in an utterly shocked tone, "What. In the hell. Is _that?_"

His gaze was no longer on Sulley – instead, he was staring wide-eyed at the ground, a few paces behind Sulley's feet. His skin, the exact shade of a tantalising Granny Smith apple, became a shade lighter, paled with pure astonishment. Gone was his fury: shock stood in its place.

Slightly mystified yet feeling a tug of panic, Sulley braced himself for the worst as he turned around and –

_Oh no _...

"Is that … **blood** on the floor?" whispered Mike, his voice barely discernible.

Dotted all over the floor, like scattered confetti, were blood droplets.

_Fresh_ blood droplets, differing in sizes, still soaking into the carpeting.

"Uh …" was all Sulley could say. He only had eyes for the crimson-coated carpet.

Mike finally tore his gaze away from the bloody floor to look at Sulley, to receive a proper answer, and that was when he noticed his friend's discoloured blue fur for the first time. In the night light, Mike did not see the dark tint of his hair – as far as he was concerned, it was no different to the purple spots that the blue monster sported. Nor did he notice them immediately in the hallway lights, for the discoloration occurred on the front of Sulley's body – how could Mike have noticed, if he was walking behind Sulley the entire time? Also, consumed with rage when his patience wore thin, Mike again failed to notice as he vented on his best friend.

Until now.

"Sulley, was there _blood_ on your fur? Like the blood on the floor?" gasped Mike, his eye as big as a saucer, if not bigger. "Was it the _same blood?_"

Sulley met his friend's gaze. He licked his lips, opened his mouth and promptly closed it again, the explanation lost in his throat.

_Hmmm, wouldn't _I_ like to hear what answer you have for Mike, _purred the little voice in his head. _It's bound to be interesting …and entertaining._

_And judging by dear Mike's expression, I would say that the conclusion he reached would be far more remarkable and compelling, don't you think, big guy …?_

"Mikey … whatever you're thinking right now, you got it all wrong –"

"Got it all wrong? So murder _isn't_ on your agenda?" cried Mike, incredulous.

Sulley was flabbergasted at the notion.

"Murder?" he spluttered. "Why would I ... how could I possibly ever ... you know I could never bring myself to do _that_."

"Oh sure, and I bet whoever the poor guy was that bled to death tonight would totally agree with you!" screamed the smaller monster, blatant sarcasm dripping from his voice. He gestured wildly with his arm towards the door of the nurse's office. "And I _doubly_ bet that you have his bloody corpse in there right now."

That, in all honesty, was as close to the truth as the excited little monster could get about Randall at this point, but the very idea that Mike put forward to Sulley right now, the harsh accusation that he made regarding his best friend ... it cut deeper than the deadliest knife, shaking the large monster down to the core.

"Mike, I didn't kill anyone," said Sulley in a low rumble. "There's a reasonable explanation behind why I brought you here, and why I have - _had _- blood on me."

He paused, heaving a heavy sigh before saying, "I know this is all quite bizarre, and I'm _so _sorry for dragging you away from your evening with Celia. Please bear with me on this ... this wasn't the way I planned to tell you about the problem."

Sulley placed a big paw on the door handle, keeping his eyes on the smaller, green monster. Mike had his hands on his hips once more, though his expression was softer - or so it seemed to Sulley

"I think it's best if you see this for yourself, before I say anything else."

Hastily, he added, "Don't freak out."

Without another word, Sulley turned the handle and opened the door. He paid no heed to the apprehensive look on Mike's face - he motioned with his large arm towards the opening, out of which the bright light streamed, before he stepped inside the office. "Come on."

_Lords alive, give me strength. _This quirky phrase appeared in and disappeared from Mike's mind in mere milliseconds before he swallowed his anxiety and allowed himself to follow Sulley into the office.

If anything, he would need all of the strength to prepare him for what he was about to see.

* * *

Upon entering the nurse's office, at first Mike could not decide what was more difficult for his rather sensitive eye to adjust to: the harsh lights, superior in quality compared to the outdated and weaker bulbs of the hallway lights, or the bright, white walls, without so much as a speck of dust in sight.

But when Sulley, weary-looking as he stood at the end of the room with his back concealing something, stood to the side and revealed a familiar figure lying comatose on a hospital bed like an Egyptian mummy in bloody bandages, _that sight _proved to be difficult for Mike's eye to adjust to most of all.

And the longer he stared, when the awful realisation hit him when he recognised the figure, his eye nearly popped out of his head.

_Ooohh my gaaaaa ... there's just _**no** _freakin' _**way**_..._

_Ooooohhh my gaaaaaaa ... it _**is** _him ..._

_Hooooooo snaaaaap ... _**blood** _... blood for Africa, right there ... coming from ... _him _..._

His voice barely above a whisper as he stared at the bandaged behemoth before him, he could only say: "Please tell me you've speed-ordered a life-size Randall piñata for my bachelor party."

Sulley briefly glanced at Randall with tired eyes before he replied to the smaller monster. "No."

Mike gulped, his eye still on the comatose lizard. "So that's really him?"

"Yes, Mike," answered Sulley quietly in affirmation. "It's Randall."

"How ...? _How_ ...?" Mike asked loudly now, gesturing wildly towards the reptilian monster. He finally turned his gaze on Sulley, at a loss for words, though clearly desperate to hear an answer. "How ...?"

"How did Randall get back into the monster world?" Sulley finished for him, guessing what his friend was getting at.

Mike nodded dumbly, his arms outstretched towards the monster in question. His eye was abnormally large; there was no need to look into that swirling orb to know that the green monster was going through so many emotions at that moment ...

Sulley ran a big paw through his abundant hair, trying to gather his thoughts. He closed his eyes, summoning all the strength that remained in his body to help him express his incoherent thoughts and transfer them into constructed sentences, from mumble-jumble to words that would make perfect sense.

_Doubtful, big guy._

"I was testing the new consignment of doors that came in today – you know, after double-checking the invoice," started Sulley, opening his eyes slowly: the harsh office lights shone down on him, like the bright lamps that the likes of the police and the CDA used during interrogations – for the truth. He noticed that the harsh light reflected from Mike's eye.

It was a familiar look, flickering in that orb, but Sulley could not put his finger on it ...

He continued, looking down at the floor momentarily. He explained about testing the first eight doors, "to save the assistants time," he said. The explanation was littered with awkward pauses whenever Sulley laid his eyes on the smaller monster, who stared back at him with a hard expression, which only grew harder as the big monster continued on. He was certainly unnerved by this, and so he would let his eyes wander about the room, concentrating on the uplifting posters of happy monsters stuck on the walls, so long as he could not look at Mike. One or two times his movements became spasmodic, evident of the tension within his body, thriving on his nervousness like a parasite.

_Don't look at Mikey ... just make your case ... don't let him get to you ..._

_But why does he look so ... betrayed?_

_Keep going, Sullivan!_

"I came to the ninth door and I was just starting to open it when I felt … I dunno, like a _weight_ was pressing against the door on the other side. Before I could do anything, though, out came tumbling this _thing _onto the floor in front of me, bleeding and … dead-looking … but it groaned. It was _alive_, but I couldn't believe it because … it was practically _dead_. Then it lifted up its head and looked at me …"

Sulley paused for breath, allowing himself to nibble quickly on his bottom lip. He turned to look down at the cataleptic creature in question: a peaceful expression had graced Randall's features in his sedated state, adding to the effect that he looked as if he were sleeping, swathed in a protective blanket of bandages. Sulley had never seen the reptilian monster look so serene before – it made a change from the looks of fear and pain that the purple-coloured lizard wore earlier.

"… It was Randall," Mike finished for Sulley, quietly - the tone of his voice was hard as stone.

"It was Randall," confirmed Sulley, also quiet, his cerulean-blue eyes gazing down at the lizard. "He came in through that door and back into the monster world."

"Well then, we should probably throw him back."

"Wait, what?"

That blunt statement woke Sulley up, enough for him to tear his gaze from Randall to Mike in bewilderment.

"What did you say?" the blue monster exclaimed. _Please tell me that you didn't say what I think you said ..._

"You heard me, pal," replied Mike, crossing his arms across his chest. "We gotta throw Randall back into the human world. We banished him before, so we're gonna do it again."

"Are you crazy, Mike Wazowski?" cried Sulley, unable to believe what he was hearing. He motioned to Randall's prone form with a muscular arm. "We can't throw him back! Not in his condition. Do you know how long it took me to clean his wounds?"

"Sulley, surface wounds on a psycho means absolutely nothing to me – the only condition that he has is a mentally-unhinged one called insanity, and a fit enough punishment for his insanity-driven actions is banishment to the human world," stated Mike, his voice shrill. "If he ain't fit enough for this world, then he can damn well go back into the human world and terrorise its inhabitants instead!"

"Look at him, Mike!" rumbled Sulley, motioning once more to Randall. "He's been through hell, can't you see that? He's been beaten _raw_, cut in so many places and goodness knows what else he's had to endure! Does he look like he's been terrorising anyone?"

"Given what's he's put _us_ through, I'm surprised we even let him live," said Mike, flushing with indubitable anger. "Give some credit to the humans or whoever for at least trying to get rid of him, though."

"Where's your monstrosity?" roared Sulley heatedly, stepping towards and towering over the smaller monster.

"Where was _his _when he tried to kill us?" cried Mike, his eye shining bright with intense ferocity. His fists were clenched tightly into little balls.

Sulley growled, his large body tense with rage. "Mike, there's no way Randall is going back through a door – he won't survive in that world. He's been through too much. Damn it, he can hardly remember anything about what happened last year before he was banished."

"What's that supposed to mean? That Randall just _happens_ to have amnesia all of a sudden or something?" Mike hissed, narrowing his eye in disbelief.

_My, Mike is quite relentless. But then, I'm not surprised. Betray him once, shame on **you**. Betray him twice, shame on you **more**. Someone ought to cut you down to size, so that you get what you deserve, big guy …what_** you **_don't deserve is mercy …_

Sulley's breathed in deeply, trying to contain the rising rage that intensified with every word that came tumbling out of Mike's mouth and with every utter that inexorable voice issued.

"I don't know how, but whatever happened to him, it broke him," Sulley stated simply, exhaling, releasing some tension, though he cringed inwardly as his tone was somewhat harsher than he intended. "The trauma probably caused him to lose his memory, for goodness sake. Do you understand what I'm saying, Mike? He can't remember me, or you, the kidnapping, or even his past life at Monsters, Inc. He doesn't know how he ended up in the human world. All he knows is his name. "

He paused, regarding the smaller monster with his shining blue eyes. "Whatever the case may be, I'm not going to banish Randall just so that he can get hurt again."

His tone was resolute. "Randall is staying. I'm going to nurse him back to health, help him get his memory back. I'm going to help him no matter what."

"Oh, so you want to remind him what kind of a psychopath he is then, huh?" shrieked Mike, practically standing on the tips of his toes as he glared up at his friend. "Great, he'll integrate into society perfectly! I can see the headlines now: "CEO-approved Creep Free to Stir Up Trouble Again"! People won't care at all that your former rival who tried to ruin this company and attempted to get rid of us is back in this world! Hell, I won't be surprised at all if he tries any more tricks!"

Sarcasm quickly turned into pleading. "Banish him whilst you have the time, Sulley! He's not worth your or my pity!"

"I'll try to _rehabilitate_ him, not get him to be evil again," retorted Sulley firmly, leaning over Mike.

"What is it with you and lost causes?" Mike cried, spittle flying from his mouth.

"Randall is _not_ a lost cause!"

"He is too!"

"Mike, he is NOT!"

"Face it, Sulley, Randall isn't Boo!" roared Mike, his eye swirling with unmistakable rage. "Randall knew full well what he did and he deserved what he got. He has no one to blame but himself, and there's nothing we can do about it! He's not some sort of pet, child, or whatever that you plucked up off the street. You can't allow yourself to be responsible for him, a dirty creep like that. Polka-dotted monsters can't change their spots, you know that. Sulley, hear me out, for once in your life, _just listen to me!_ He's bad news - you can't drop everything like our friendship for a low-life like him!"

"Michael, I'm NOT dropping our friendship!" Sulley spluttered in shock, his heart nearly exploding in his chest. _This wasn't supposed to be like this!_ "It's not like I'm betraying you or hurting you on purpose! Do you think I wanted this? For Randall to hop on back to our world in his state?"

"Since you're saying that you don't want this, Sulley, then he has GOT TO GO!"

"I tell you, Randall's not going anywhere!"

"_OH YES HE IS! HE'S _– hey, where is he?"

Sulley immediately whirled around, following Mike's surprised gaze towards the bed.

_Oh no …_

The constriction in his chest returned with full force …

_No, no, no …_

The merciless cold claw was squeezing his beating heart, which was fueled by anger, now replaced with anxiety, and pumping at a fast rate …

_No, there's just no way …_

A breath hitched in his throat, increasing the discomfort in his chest …

_He's …he's …_

Sulley could barely hear Mike, who was trying to say something, tugging at his forearm and trying to get his attention. No, the big monster only had eyes for the bed.

The _empty_ bed, save for the scarlet stains soaking into the mattress.

Randall was no longer on the bed.

Mike, his voice suddenly clearer now as the daunting realization fully hit Sulley, was saying something about the office door being wide open …

The reptilian monster had escaped when the other monsters were not looking.

* * *

**A/N: **Omigosh, we finally have a chapter update (darn my lazy soul)- and it's from one cliffhanger to another (darn my cliffhanger tendencies). I'd like to extend a huge thanks to my beta-reader, WaterEra, for all the hard work she put into this chapter and going through everything with a fine-tooth comb and adding improvements before I uploaded this. You're the best, WaterEra! :D Of course, thank you to every one out there who has reviewed, faved, alerted or even dropped in to read this little story o' mine. I didn't think it would receive such a lovely response. :)

Wow, Mike is quite the judgemental one, huh? The chapter title refers to an event in the Bible, out of which arose the phrase, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone", dealing with judgement and hypocrisy - in this context, Mike's. Also, a bit of foreshadowing in the beginning about how Randall came back ... ah, a chapter crammed full of silly ol' symbolism. ^-^ Drop me a line about the characters', uh, characterisation, because it's important for me to keep these two in-character (such as Mike being sarcastic and Sulley being kind yet guilty in this context). And, to clarify, yes, Randall has escaped when those two were arguing. Whoops.

Reviews are welcome!

*~AI07~* ;)


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